Timeless portrayals of bard’s ballads win gold for Ladies and St. Joseph’s College
Girls’ Final
The finals of the Shakespeare Drama Competition took off starting with the girls’ schools last weekend at the Bishop’s College Auditorium. The four finalists taking their shot at the trophy were Visakha Vidyalaya, Bishop’s College, Ladies’ College and Devi Balika Vidyalaya.
Ladies College
The third runners-up for the evening were the cast and crew of Devi Balika Vidyalaya for their slapstick heavy rendition of “Taming of the Shrew.”
To their credit the cast cracked a tough crowd, extracting laughs for their well-timed humour. Also presenting their version of “Taming of the Shrew,” Ladies’ College walked away with the title for 2015.
Bishop’s College
Live props which folded into chairs and tables as the cast ran, ate and even quarrelled over, won the school recognition for Best Stagecraft. Darker than the other rendition of the play Ladies’ College sold the tale of a household in cahoots against their new mistress.
Bishop’s College staged an excerpt from “Love’s Labour Lost.” Their careful use of live music which didn’t drown-out the speakers didn’t escape the judges, who felt their production was worthy of Second runner up status.
Solitary violins setting a dreary tone to monologues and wind instruments speckling the play with comic effect complemented the witty banter.
Devi Balika Vidyalaya
Taking-on the story of “Titus Andronicus,” Visakha Vidyalaya was placed first runner up. Setting the scene with the silhouette of Tamora dragged to Andronicus’s feet, their version ended with the warrior in her place following his unfortunate yet inevitable downward spiral.
| Winners: Best Actor: Jointly awarded to Shawnae Algama, Bishop’s College and Shalini Corea Ladies’ College |
Strong male leads were portrayed almost effortlessly by the cast, in an excerpt which consisted of just two female roles.
Judges’ Comments:
Tanya Warnakulasuriya speaking for the panel said “we appreciated the use of live music.” They felt the schools which showed an understanding of the excerpt in relation to the play performed better, the panel tended to favour versions which “remained in context with the rest of the play.”
Visakha Vidyalaya. Pix by Anuradha Bandar
| Judges Dr. Harshana Rambukwella |
Boys’ final
It was a night for the Shakespearean tragedies as the boys’ schools chose King Lear, Titus Andronicus and Antony and Cleopatra from the list of options that were available for this year’s edition of the competition.
D.S. Senanayake College
The Boys’ final began with two back to back adaptations of “King Lear” by D.S. Senanayake College and St. Joseph’s College. Both schools stuck to quite a traditional interpretation of the play, which depicts the title character’s slow descent into madness after he bestows his kingdom on two of his three daughters based on their flattery, upon which they turn their backs on him.
Both King Lear’s were the stronger characters in their plays and D.S. Senanayake’s King Lear walked away with the award for Best Actor for his portrayal.
D.S. Senanayake College attempted to present a darker, more serious version of the jester but it was St. Joseph’s College’s portrayal of a Shakespearean fool that clinched the deal for the night with the audience.
St. Joseph’s College and D.S. Senanayake College were first and second place winners for the night respectively.
| Winners: Best Actor: Haseeb Hassan, D.S. Senanayake College, Colombo 7 |
St. Peter’s College chose the path less travelled, attempting to break away from the traditional mould to stage an adaptation of “Titus Andronicus” complete with light sabres and an impressive soundtrack. St. Peter’s College was placed second runners up.
St. Joseph’s College. Pix by Amila Gamage
“Antony and Cleopatra” by Loyola College, involved mustering up their cast for a couple of difficult excerpts that featured three female characters and little stage time for male roles.
The school managed the script well, drawing a few laughs via the clown who brings Cleopatra her poisonous snakes. Loyola College was placed third runners up for the evening.
The Interschool Shakespeare Competition is organized annually by the Colombo Young Men’s Christian Association together with the Rotary Club of Colombo North.
Judges’ Comments :
(Boys’ final)
Judge Dr. Harshana Rambukwella presented the panel’s thoughts on the plays. He commended “four excellent performances” and noted that standards at the competition were improving.
Loyola College
The panel praised risks taken by schools in interpreting the plays as “bold” but added that they “must be thought through and have an organic connection to the play.” The schools were reminded not to focus too much on the lead roles and the casting could have been better, he noted.
St. Peter’s College